Emotions are bound to run high in this one given the proximity of the schools and the hype going into the game, so whichever team better manages themselves on Saturday will have a huge advantage. “I honestly never would have imagined that”.
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One of college football’s most historic and fiercest rivalries returns after a 15-year hiatus when Penn State visits Pittsburgh on Saturday.
But that wasn’t easy after this one. The Panthers certainly looked ready while they gashed the Nittany Lions for 99 yards on the first drive and avoided the kind of late meltdown that has become the program’s calling card all too often in recent years. “He’s a fighter. What he’s been through, what he’s still going through and the way that he just prevailed and just kept going – not many people would be able to do that”. But players said the team came out of locker room “flat”. The amount of work I put in.
“The reality is we didn’t play smart enough, we didn’t play mistake-free enough to win”, Franklin said.
It was, of course, hardly all on Hamilton. “That’s very big. When you get into a sudden-change situation and your defense goes three and out … for us to hold them to three points, that’s the game right there”. The hope for Penn State fans is they were playing a rather vanilla style in hopes of unloading some new looks against Pitt. On the ensuing kickoff, Henderson dipped and darted his way to the 10-yard line for an 84 yard return, although he was frustrated he didn’t find the end zone.
The coaches also approached the build-up toward Saturday’s game from different points of view. “We’ll see how this thing goes moving forward”.
On third-and-goal, after two more rushing plays, Peterman found Orndoff in the back of the end zone off a play-action pass play to push Pitt ahead 21-7.
Both Penn State and Pittsburgh picked up wins in their opening games, the Nittany Lions beat Kent State in a game where they weren’t exactly stellar. “If you lose the turnover battle and turn the ball over in your area of the field, you’re going to have a hard time winning consistently”.
In a game filled with big plays, Ryan Lewis made the biggest one.
“After James put the ball on the ground … our guys went out and put up a a three and out”, Narduzzi said.
“I felt like I had to make a play”. “I’ve gotta run faster”. The corner made a great play on it. Everybody needs to be held accountable on that play. His was able to kick two that went at least 50 yards and three that were dropped inside of the 20 yard line.
There’s also the increased emphasis on scheduling one marquee opponent among the three nonconference games, a need Penn State presumably has filled through 2025 with home-and-home series with Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Auburn.
“Every game is the same, ” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said Tuesday.
“I know when I first got into a major rivalry, I didn’t get it the first year”, he said.
Pitt only passed for 91 yards while Penn State racked up 332 yards in the air.
Who happened to be Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett.
Pitt: Ejuan Price is the Panthers’ top pass rusher and one of the best in the East.
His five touchdowns were the most for a Penn State player since running back Ki-Jana Carterhad that many against Michigan State in 1994. Here’s what the Nittany Lions had to cheer about and what they had to jeer about from the game. “They can say that this year”, said Barkley, whose five scores felt nearly like a footnote on a freaky afternoon. We’ve renewed our rivalry with West Virginia, the “Backyard Brawl”, so that will come on line for a four-year series.
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Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and Penn State President Eric Barron penned a joint letter in which they asked fans to be “loud, be respectful and be a good sport” for the game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
